Contractor also associated with ICC, Silver Spring Transit Center

Facchina Construction Company, Inc., the subcontractor responsible for pouring concrete at the Silver Spring Transit Center, is among five bidders for the second phase of Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority’s Dulles Metrorail Project. The Silver Spring Transit Center was expected to open in 2011, but a series of cracks and disparities in the thickness of the concrete at the center have delayed the project’s opening by nearly two years so far, and it’s unclear when the center will be open for business.

A sign is still wrapped in plastic at the Silver Spring Transit Center on Thursday. The project was expected to open in 2011, but a series of cracks and disparities in the thickness of the concrete at the center have delayed the project’s opening by nearly two years so far, and it’s unclear when the center will be open for business.

Dan Gross/The Gazette

Facchina Construction Company, Inc., the subcontractor responsible for pouring concrete at the Silver Spring Transit Center, is among five bidders for the second phase of Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority’s Dulles Metrorail Project. The Silver Spring Transit Center was expected to open in 2011, but a series of cracks and disparities in the thickness of the concrete at the center have delayed the project’s opening by nearly two years so far, and it’s unclear when the center will be open for business.

Dan Gross/The Gazette

Facchina Construction Company, Inc., the subcontractor responsible for pouring concrete at the Silver Spring Transit Center, is among five bidders for the second phase of Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority’s Dulles Metrorail Project. The Silver Spring Transit Center was expected to open in 2011, but a series of cracks and disparities in the thickness of the concrete at the center have delayed the project’s opening by nearly two years so far, and it’s unclear when the center will be open for business.

Dan Gross/The Gazette

Facchina Construction Company, Inc., the subcontractor responsible for pouring concrete at the Silver Spring Transit Center, is among five bidders for the second phase of Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority’s Dulles Metrorail Project. The Silver Spring Transit Center was expected to open in 2011, but a series of cracks and disparities in the thickness of the concrete at the center have delayed the project’s opening by nearly two years so far, and it’s unclear when the center will be open for business.

Facchina Construction Company, Inc., the subcontractor responsible for pouring concrete at the Silver Spring Transit Center, is among five bidders for the second phase of Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority’s Dulles Metrorail Project.

The rail line — known as the Metro Silver Line — will include stops at Reston Town Center, Herndon, Innovation Center, Washington Dulles International Airport, Route 606 and Route 772, all in Virginia. Phase 1 to the Wiehle-Reston East Station is expected to open by the end of the year.

La Plata-based Facchina Construction, LLC did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

Marcia McAllister, communications manager for the Dulles Corridor Metrorail Project, did not return a request for comment.

According to a MWAA press release, “The teams were selected following a Request for Qualifications Information, a process intended to emphasize design and construction experience and professionalism and produce a short-list of up to five qualified teams to proceed to final bidding.”

The award, according to the release, will be made to the team that submits an acceptable technical proposal and lowest price. The award is expected to be made in May and the contract estimated cost is $1.4 billion to $1.6 billion. Completion for the project is expected in mid-2018.

Facchina has had its hand in multiple Montgomery County projects, including the Intercounty Connector and the Silver Spring Transit Center, a nearly $120 million transit hub project on the corner of Colesville Road and Wayne Avenue in downtown Silver Spring. The project was expected to open in 2011, but a series of cracks and disparities in the thickness of the concrete at the center have delayed the project’s opening by nearly two years so far, and it’s unclear when the center will be open for business.

John Markovs, deputy county attorney, told The Gazette last month that Facchina “admitted the concrete pour strips” in the middle level of structure were “not code-compliant” back in August 2012.

David Dise, director of the county’s Department of General Services, said in the same meeting that Facchina acknowledged last year that the thickness of the structure’s concrete was not up to code in some areas.

Facchina has also done work on the ICC, which has had cracking in its bridges. Facchina worked on Contract C of the project, which includes the three-level interchange at Route 29 and an interchange at Briggs Chaney Road. State Highway Administration officials said cracks were observed during “routine inspections” and were caused by miscalculation by designers. In order to fix the bridges, high tension steel rods were added inside to ensure the long-term lifespan of the bridges, said Ray Feldmann, who noted the cracks were never a safety concern.

While fixes have been made in the Contract A and Contract B sections of the ICC, Valerie Burnette Edgar, director of the Office of Customer Relations and Information at SHA, said the contract designer does not believe there are any problems in the Contract C portion, though they plan to use similar reinforcement out of caution.